ADHD Questions
ADHD Progression
Is it possible to grow out of ADHD?
April 20, 2023
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The good news is that children with ADHD improve as they age.
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However, while they may grow out of certain symptoms, such as hyperactivity, most will still experience some impact in their lives from ADHD. ADHD symptoms can also come back at times, even after regression.
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Fortunately, through treatment, therapy, and coping mechanisms, most with ADHD can live normal lives as adults.
What do experts say about growing out of ADHD?
As children with ADHD develop, they grow out of ADHD in some ways.
According to the DSM, children tend to show improvements in hyperactivity with age.
However, difficulties in attention and planning can persist. Many children continue to experience impacts from ADHD, even after they grow into adults.
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In most individuals with ADHD, symptoms of motoric hyperactivity become less obvious in adolescence and adulthood, but difficulties with restlessness, inattention, poor planning, and impulsivity persist. A substantial proportion of children with ADHD remain relatively impaired into adulthood.
DSM-5
What does improvement look like in ADHD?
The data shows that many children will improve to the point where they no longer meet the criteria for ADHD.
One study found that many children with ADHD achieve complete remission of their symptoms as they get older. Researchers followed participants over 16 years and found that 30% became "better" to the point of remission during the study. Many others showed improvement.
Researchers studied a group of 558 children with ADHD over 16 years. They found that 30% will experience complete remission at some point. However, 60% of these individuals will experience recurrence as well.
However, even these individuals frequently experienced recurrence. At different points in the study, most had their symptoms return at least once.
As you can see in the chart below, most individuals that were followed ended up with fluctuating ADHD symptoms.
The participants in the study indeed showed improvement over time, but most did not fully grow out of ADHD, even during young adulthood.
Most with ADHD will experience some periods of improvement over time. However, recurrence is common.
What symptoms do children grow out of first?
As stated in the DSM excerpt above, certain symptom types improve first.
As children grow, they are more likely to show improvement in hyperactivity than difficulties in paying attention.
One study found that most children showed significant improvement in attention symptoms at age 18, while most had grown out of their hyperactive symptoms.
A study of 128 boys found that hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms of ADHD were more likely to get better than difficulties with attention.
Why do studies show different numbers for ADHD improvement?
Different studies can show very different estimates for ADHD improvement.
Part of the challenge is defining what counts as improvement and what counts as getting better.
The study below tracked children with ADHD over time to study improvement patterns.
Most individuals experienced improvements in ADHD symptoms over time, though most still had at least some impact on their lives
As you can see in the chart, most childrenimprove to the point where they no longer qualify for ADHD, as shown by the red line. By this strict criteria, the data shows that most children with ADHD will eventually grow out of it.
However, most will continue to experience the effects of ADHD symptoms in their everyday lives, as shown by the green line.
Key Takeaways
Based on the data above, we can see that children with ADHD typically get better as they grow. However, most will continue to experience impacts from ADHD symptoms. Few will recover fully from ADHD and live a completely normal life, at least in young adulthood.
Often, symptoms become less severe or evolve. For example, the CDC notes that in many cases, hyperactivity can develop into restlessness as children with ADHD grow into adulthood.
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ADHD often lasts into adulthood. To diagnose ADHD in adults and adolescents age 17 years or older, only 5 symptoms are needed instead of the 6 needed for younger children. Symptoms might look different at older ages. For example, in adults, hyperactivity may appear as extreme restlessness or wearing others out with their activity.
ADHD can be a tough condition to define, particularly since it changes as we mature. What we do know is that everyone’s experience is different. If you or your loved one has ADHD, it’s important to talk to your doctor to see what treatment and care plans are best fit for your unique case.